The independent Saratov media outlet "Free News" reported that their operations were terminated by order of the Supreme Court on October 3.
The court granted the lawsuit filed by Roskomnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media) on October 3. The case arose because "Free News" did not label Dmitry Muratov and Andrey Illarionov as foreign agents between February and April 2024. The media outlet shared the court's verdict. It now has one month to appeal.
"Free News" has been operating since 2013 and, in recent years, was one of the few remaining independent regional outlets. In May, Roskomnadzor threatened the outlet with criminal charges over publications related to the military and drone crashes. In July, the media watchdog called for revoking "Free News's" license for mentioning foreign agents without the required labels. In late August, the court upheld the blocking of the outlet's website for publishing texts about Alexey Navalny's death.
